Unitary power-driven roller conveyer



Jan. 6, 1953 c. G. wA'l-,LMAN

UNITARY PowsR-DRIvEN ROLLER coNvEYER 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Nov. 19, 1949 L s if \A Jan. 6, 1953 c. G. WALLMAN K UNITARY POWER-DRIVEN ROLLER CONVEYER lFiled Nov. 19, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 +III IIIIIIII IIIIIIII II III! IIIIIII\I I I I Ill I II I III ww f www .l NN m. n

Patented Jan. 6, 1(953 UNTARY POWER-DRIVEN ROLLER CONVEYER Clifford'G. Wallman, La Grange, Ill., assignor to The Petersen Oven Company, Franklin Park, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application November 19, 1949, Serial No. 128,413

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to a unitary power driven roller conveyor adapted to be interposed in a conveyor system for turning corners or bends, or changing direction of a conveyor which is otherwise straight. The conveyor unit is adapted for conveying various kinds of articles and is of such nature that the articles t-o be conveyed are merely placed or fed onto the rollers and are conveyed by the rotation of the rollers.

An object of the invention is the provision of a roller conveyor of the nature above referred to, which is in the form of a section adapted to be Vincorporated as a unit in a conveyor system, whether straight or curved.

Another object of the invention is to provide a power driven conveyorunit comprising a series of spaced apart rollers, arranged generally radially, and wherein all the rollers are driven by a straight line drive.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a power driven conveyor unit having a series of rollers arranged in an arc and driven by a straight line drive, and by virtue of the straight line drive, a flexible chain can be employed for imparting a positive and uniformk drive to the conveyor rollers and the elimination of gear trains is eected.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a curved conveyor unit made up of a series of rollers arranged in an arc and driven by a straight line drive in which the rollers are out of valignment with the straight line drive, and thev driving power is transmitted to the rollers by means of eXible drive connections.

A still further object is the provision of a power drivenl roller conveyor having an arcuate or curved path which is made up as a complete assembly together with the power driving means, and istherefore unitary and readily joined and coordinated with other conveyor sections, eliminating the neccesity of elaborate and expensivev operations for interconnecting the various sections.

` A still further object is the provision of a power driven curved roller conveyor having rollers disposed in diverging relation with respect to each other, and driven by a straight line drive, whereby a flexible chain can -be employed for operating the drive and by reason of the use of the chain, the operation of the conveyor is exceptionally silent. Another object of the invention is the provision of a power driven roller conveyor in which the rollers diverge with respect to each other and thereby form a curved path, in which the rollers are angled and so arranged that their upper sur- Iaceslie in a common horizontal plane.

of the present invention with a portion of one ofl the protective shields removed;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan View of a portion of the conveyor including portions of the rollers and the flexible drive transmitting means therefor;

Figure 3 is an enlarged view taken on line 3 3` of `Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a view taken on line 4-'4 of Fgure 6;

Figure 5 is an enlarged view taken on line 5 5 of Figure 1; and

Figure 6 is an enlarged view of the upper por-- tion of Figure 5 showing certain elements in section.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the

whole conveyor is indicated at I2 in Figure 1 which includes a supporting framework I4 on which are mounted a plurality of power driven tapered rollers I6 arranged in an arcuate path and disposed in positions adjacent the horizontal. The rollers diverge with respect to each other to form the arcuate path as will be readily seen in Figure 1, and the ends of the rollers will be referred to as the outer and inner ends in accordance with the outer and inner defining edges of the arcuate path. The rollers are power driven and articles placed thereon will be conveyed along the conveyor by reason of the rotation of the rollers. The conveyor illustrated in Figure 1 is vadapted for interposition in a con. veyor system and may be employed for intercon-4 necting straight sections, or other sections. The

conveyor of the present invention is adapted to be employed 1n any situation where the conveyor is intended to turn or change direction.

The frame I4 includes a plurality of supporting legs I1 at the outer edge of the curved path of the conveyor, and a plurality of legs I8 at the inner edge, with appropriate braces or cross members 20 interconnecting the legs I l and I 8.

A curved or arcuate angle member 22 is mounted' on the tops of the legs Il as by welding, and

similarly a curved angle member 24 is mounted on the tops of the legs i8. An additional set of legs 26 is disposed in substantially a straight line in a position spaced from the legs i8, and mounted on the tops of the legs 26 is a straight angle member 28. The angle members 22, 26 and 28 are adapted for supporting the various elements of the roller conveyor. The brace members 20 or certain of them may be extended to interconnect the legs 26 for imparting rigidity thereto and completing the whole framework. The framework I4 may be of any convenient height for disposing the rollers I6 at thedesired level for intercommunicating or cooperating with other sections of the conveyor in which the present apparatus is to be embodied.

Referring particularly to Figures' 5' and 6,'each of the rollers I6 includes a shaft 36 on which hubs 32 and 34 are rigidly mounted in axial relation. `The hub 32 is of greater diameter than the hub 34, the hub 32 being adjacent the outer end of the roller, and the hub 34 being adjacent the inner end. The hubs are preferably tapered slightly so that their peripheral surfaces convergein directions toward each other. Secured on the hubs 32 and 34 is a tubular element 36 which' is slightlytapered and denes the shape and size of the roller I6. The outer ends of the inner surface of the tubular member 36 are preferably beveled slightly at 36d and theselsurfaces directly contact the hubs 32 and 34. If desired, the hubs are forced inwardly into the tubular member sufficiently to establish a rm friction fit between the hubs and the tubular element so that the latter rotates upon roation Vof the hubs. After the hubs are so posiioned, the hubs are welded to the shaft on their outwardly facing surfaces. Y

Mounted on each end of theshaft 36 is a ball bearing assembly 38 each of which includes an outer ringor collar 46. The bearing proper is inserted in the collar 46 and includes an outer member 42 having a flange 4 4 adapted to engage the collar 46 in an axial direction, and an inner member 46 keyed tothe shaft by means of key 41. The two members 42 and 46 define ka race in which are disposed a plurality of bearing balls 48. The collar 40 is provided with a downwardly extending lug 56 adapted to, be pivotally mounted in a mounting, orvsupporting bracket 52.` The bracket 52v is yprovided with a cavity 54 in' its lupper surface defined on opposite sides lby wall elements 56 (Figure 4), The lug 56 is inserted in the cavity `54 andthe wall elements 56 and lug l) are provided with aligned holes for the insertion of a pin 58 held in place as by a press lit and providing a pivotal support for the bearing means 38 so that the bearing means can have limited pivotal swinging movement on the p'in, the axis of the latter being disposed transverse tothe axis of rotation 0f the roller i6.

The cavities 54 diverge upwardly as viewed in Figure Sand the Vdi'verging side surfaces act as stop means limiting the extent of swinging movement of the bearing means S6 on the pins 68. Secured to the shaft 36 adjacent each of the bearing means 38, by means of a set screw 66, is a set collar 62 in engagement with the respective bearing means for the purpose of taking up axial thrust of the roller and for properly positio'ning the roller between its bearings.

One of the supporting brackets 52 is mounted on the angle member 22l and the other is mounted on the angle member 2 4. The angle member 22 is disposed at a lower level than the angle member 24, and as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 the rollers are thus so disposed that the upper surface of the rollers are horizontal, and all lie in a common horizontal plane; the axes of rotation of the rollers therefore slope downwardly from the inner ends to the outer ends thereof. By reason of the pivotal relationship between the lugs 50 and the brackets 52, a simple and economical arrangement is provide-d whereby the brackets can be mounted on horizontal members at different heights for supporting the rollers with their axes inclined; this is in contrast with rigidly mounted bearings in the use of which it would be necessary to provide inclined supporting surfaces or inclined bearing supports.

The shaft 33 at the inner end of the roller extends through the respective bearing means 38 a distance sufhcient to receive an adapter indicated generally at 64. The adapter 64 includes a main body portion 66 having a bore 68 therein for receiving the end of the shaft' 3). A set screw 'id is threaded through a tapped hole in the body member and engages the Vshaft for securing the adapter to the shaft for rotation therewith. A tubular element 12 which is preferably formed integral with the body portion 66 is adapted to receive one end of a flexible shaft T4. The nexible shaft 'i4 may be of any pre ferred construction, but one form of construe# tion is illustrated in Figure 6 in which a central core member 'i6 is provided. The core memberl E6 is of course flexible in itself and consists of a straight single piece wire; flexible strands 'I8 are wrapped around the core 'i6 andv may oonsist of several layers wrapped in opposite directions. As mentioned above, one end of the flexible shaft ifi is inserted in the tubular ele'- ment 'E2 and the tubular element is crimped a's by center punching for fixedly securing the' flexible shaft in the tubular element. Any preferred means' may be employed for connecting the shaft to the tubular element; The other end of the flexible shaft is secured in an adapter 86 which is similar to the adapter 6d, and the iiexible shaft is secured in the same manner asjust described in connection with the adapter 64. The adapter 6 is secured toa 'stub shaft 86 mounted in a bearing means 83 similar in construction to the bearing means 38 and in` cluding an inner bearing member 976 keyed tothe shaft by means of keyv 92 and an outer bearing member dfi, the two bearing members forming a race for bearing balls 96.

One shaft 66 is provided for each roller I6: The bearing means 68 are mounted on lthe straight angle member 28, and therespective bearing members 88 and the shafts 86 are therefore disposed in a straight line as illustrated most clearly in Figure 2. The means for mounting the bearing members 8'8 includes a pair of transverse bars 38 and |653, the lower one being mounted directly on the angle member 2S and the upper one superimposed on the lower one, the two bars having cavities for receiving the bearing members 88. Bolts m2 are inserted through holes in alignment in the two transverse bars and through holes in the angle member 28 for securing the bars and the bearing members to the angle member 26.

On the outerend of each shaft 8.6 a sprocket l 64, secured thereon by means of a'setscrew |06. The sprockets |64 are of course in alignment since the shafts 36 an'd their mounting Ymeans are in alignment, and of course the upper peiripheral surfar'zesv yof the sprockets are yin a acca-44s 5 straight line. For ypurposes of interpreting the claims it will be noted that the shafts 86 are disposed with their axes of rotation parallel with each other.

Since the rollers I are disposed in an arcuate path and the sprockets |04 are disposed in a straight line, the flexible shafts 14 are of diiferent lengths to accommodate the different distances between the rollers and the respective sprockets, as illustrated in Figure 2. At the ends of the conveyor, the shafts 14 are shorter, and the degree of misalignment betweenthe rollers and the sprockets is progressively increased from the middle to the ends of the conveyor, and accordingly the flexible shafts'are disposed in sharper bends at the ends than at the middle.

-An endless flexible drive chain is employed for rotating the driving sprockets |04. The chain is made up of a plurality of pairs of links |01 and interconnecting rollers |07. The chain |05 has an upper run in meshing engagement withall of the sprockets |04 along the upper peripheral surfaces of the sprockets, and a bottom run in meshing engagement with a sprocket |08 secured to the drive shaft of an electric motor ||0 which may be mounted in any convenient place such as on a platform ||2 which in turn is supported by the structural members of the framework |4.

Secured to the upper transverse bar |00 in spaced relation therealong is a plurality of clamp bars H4 secured thereto as by means of bolts which may be the same bolts |2 which secure the bars 98 and |00 to the angle member 28. The clamp bars H4 extend outwardly from the bars 98 and |00 and secured to the outer ends thereof is a hold down angle member H. The angle member H6 has a .horizontal leg directly connected to the clamp bars and a vertical leg extending vertically over the outside surface of the drive chain |05; the horizontal leg of the hold down angle member llt is disposed directly over the sprockets |04 and of course the upper run of the chain. A guide bar ||8 is secured to the under surface of the horizontal leg of the hold down angle member llt, extending the full length thereof. The guide bar ||8 is disposed between the links |01 of the chain and in substantial engagement with the -rollers |01 of the chain. The guide bar I8 thus retains the chain in engagement with all of the driving sprockets |04 and prevents the chain from possibly riding up on the sprockets;

A guard or shield |20 'is secured to the angle member 22 at Athe outer edge of the curved path of the conveyor, and extends upwardly and over the bearing members 38, and has an inner curved, vertical ange |22 over the outer ends of the rollers i6. Similarly a guard or shield |24 is provided,A having a horizontal portion |26 disposed over the inner ends of the rollers and the iiexble shafts and their supporting and driving means. The portion |26 is turned up at |28 to form a curved flange positioned over the inner ends of the rollers. The upturned flanges |22 and |28 define and limit the path for guiding articles or materials conveyed on the conveyor rollers. The portion |26 is supported by a plurality of brackets |29 positioned between certain flexible shafts 14 and secured to the angle member 24. The guard |24 also has a downturned portion |30 covering most of that side of the machine, the portion |30 having an opening |32 for affording access to the motor U0, the open- 6 ing being closed by a plate or panel |34 which may be removably secured to the portion |30.

From the foregoing it will be seen that upon operation of the electric motor ||0 the chain |00 is actuated which rotates all of the driving sprockets |04 which in turn rotate the flexible shafts i4 and thereby rotate the rollers. The flexible shafts effectively transmit the driving force from the driving sprockets to the rollers notwithstanding the misalignrnent therebetween.

rlhe peripheral speed or the large end of the rollers is greater than that of the inner end and the result is that articles placed on the conveyor are carried in substantially an arcuate path by the rollers. rIhe flanges |22 and |20 assure that the articles will be retained on the rollers if there should be any tendency for the articles to migrate oif of the rollers.

The apparatus herein disclosed is a unitary or package section conveyor, which can be interposed in a longer conveyor without the necessity of elaborate interconnecting devices or operations. A conveyor section can be positioned adjacent each end of' the curved conveyor section oi' the present invention and articles conveyed from one of the other sections onto the present section and then onto the final section.

By reason of the straight line arrangement of the driving sprockets, a single nexiole chain can be employed for driving the sprockets and expensive and cumbersome gear trains are eliminated as well as the objectionable noise accompanying gear trains. The chain employed in the present instance operates without objectionable noise.

The mechanism herein disclosed results in an inexpensive construction, in which the rollers are power driven and the articles conveyed are uniformly fed in a true arcuate path, as distinguished from a mechanism employing cylindrical rollers, or a gravity type conveyor having the upper surface of the rollers inclined.

While I have herein shown and described a. preferred form of my invention, manifestly it is susceptible of modification and rearrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. I -do not, therefore, wish to be understood as limiting my invention to the precise form herein disclosed, except as I may be so limited by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In conveyor mechanism of the character disclosed, a supporting frame, a plurality of rollers rotatably mounted on said frame, a plurality of driving elements rotatably mounted on said frame, said driving elements being individual to said rollers respectively, said drivingv elements being disposed with their axes of rotation parallel, the axes of rotation of said rollers being out of alignment with the respective axes of rotation of said driving elements, a plurality of flexible drive transmitting means interconnecting said respective driving elements and rollers, and means for rotating said driving elements.

2. In conveyor mechanism of the character disclosed, a supporting frame, a plurality of rollers rotatably mounted on said frame, said rollers being disposed in side-by-side relation in an arcuate path, the axes of rotation of adjacent rollers being thereby divergent with respect to each other, a plurality of driving elements rotatably mounted on said frame, said driving elements being individual to said rollers respectively, said driving elements being disposed with their axes of rotation parallel, a plurality of ilexacetate 7 ible drive transmitting means interconnecting said respective driving elements'and rollers, and means for rotating said driving elements.

3. In conveyor mechanism of the character disclosed, a supporting frame, a plurality of rollers rotatably mounted on' said frame, said rollersbeing disposed in side-by-side relation inan arcuate path, the laxes* of rotationY of adjacent rollers being thereby divergent with respect tov each other, a plurality o'f-driv-ing sprocketsrotatj,

ably mounted onl rsaid vframe, said driving sprockets'being individual to saidrollersrespectively, said driving sprockets being disposed with their axes of rotation parallel and said driving sprockets being in a plane extending transversely of their axes, apluralityof flexible drive transmitting means interconnecting said respect-ive driving sprockets and rollers, and single `chain means iny engagement with Vall of saidsprockets,

saidY chain means bei-ng adapted for `cor-i-nection n with pow-er means' for rotating said sprockets.V

4. In conveyor' mechanism of the character disclosed, a supporting frame, aplurality of rollers rctatablymounted on said fram-efsaid rollers'being disposed in side-by-side relation-in an arcuate path, the axes of rotation of adjacent rollers being thereby divergent vvithY respect vto each other, a plurality of driving 'sprockets rotatably mounted on said frame, said driving sprockets'being individualto said rollers respectively, said driving sprockets beingdisposed with their axes of rotation parallelV andsaid driving sprockets being in a straight line extending transversely of their axes, a plurality of'flexibledrive transmitting means interconnecting said respective driving sprocket-s and rollers, singie chain means inV engagement with all of said sprockets, and guide means for retaining saidchain means in engagementwith saidsprockets, said chain means being adapted for connection with power means for rotating said sprockets.

5. In a conveyor of the character disclosed, a supporting frame, a plurality of tapered rollers disposed with their upper surfaces disposed in a common horizontal plane, bearing means on each end of each roller, mounting means pivotally connected to each bearing means on an aXisdisposed transverse to the axis of rotation of the respective roller, said mounting means being se` cured to said frame for supporting'the rollers thereon, a plurality of driving elements rotatably mounted on said frame, said driving elements being individual to said rollers respectively, a plurality of ilexible means interconnecting each driving element and a respective roller, and means forrotating said driving elements.

6. In a conveyor of the character disclosed, a supporting frame, a plurality of tapered rollers, bearing means on each end of each roller, mounting means pivotally connected to each bearing 8 means on anaxis disposed-transverseto the airisV of rotation of the respective roller, said mount'- in'g means being secured to said frame' for supporting the rollers thereon, said rollersbeingdisposed in side-by-side relation in an arcuate path with the small-'diameter ends of the rollers disposed at the inner edge of the path, adjacent rollers diverging with respect to each other in directions extending toward the outer edge of the path, and the large-diameter ends Vof the rollers being disposed at the outer edge of the path, said rollers being so disposed that their upper surfaces lie in a common horizontal plane, a plurality of driving elements rotatably mounted on said trame, said driving elements being incli-4 vidual to said rollers respectively, la plurality of iiexible shafts interconnecting each driving ele'-` ment and a respective roller, and mea-ns for rotating said driving elements.

7. In conveyor mechanism of the character disclosed, a supporting frame, a plurality of rollers rotatably mounted on said frame, said rollers being disposed in positions adjacent the horizonta for supporting articles on their peripheral -l surfaces, said rollers being disposed in side-'byde relation in an arcuate path, the axes of rotation of adjacent rollers being thereby diver'- gent with respect to each other, a ,plurality of driving sprockets rotatably mounted on said said driving sprockets being individual to said rollers respectively, said driving sprockets being disposed With their axes of rotation paraiiel and in a horizontal straight line extending transversely of their axes, flexible drive transmitting means interconnecting said driving sprockets and the respective rollers, single chain means in engagement with 'all of said sprockets on the upper eripheral surfaces thereof, a horizontai guide member overlying said sprockets and engagement with said chain means, said guide member being operative for retaining said chain means in engagement with said sprockets, said chain means being adapted for connection with power means for rotating said sprockets.

CLIFFORD G. WALLMAN.

REFERENCES CTED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 353,124 Dickson Nov. 23, 1886 1,677,999 BoaX et al J1i1y24, 1928 1,756,653 McArthur Apr. 29, 1930 1,785,594 Paisley Dec. 16, 1930 1,896,150 Zademach v Feb. 7, '193'3 1,959,157 Eggleston May l5, 1934iA 2,070,043 Cutler Feb. 9, 1937 2,410,996 Patterson Nov. 12, 1946 

